That's the Way We Are
by Demonic Angel Clone
Summary: In another life, he probably would've been her best friend, her best friend whose eyes light up when she says hi to him and takes pictures of sights and scenery that only last for a moment before the moment's gone. Except he already does that...
1. Chapter 1

Slight spoilers for 1x06, ect. I've been loving this series since it began airing, and in commemoration of it getting a section, I had to fic it. And of course, I had to fic it with the pairing I'm seriously hoping for (that sneak peek ruined me, I tell ya). Minor things you have to know: Phrases in italics are Emmett's comments, you'll see as you read. That's about it. Without further ado:

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><p><em><strong>T<strong>hat's the** W**ay **W**e **A**re_

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><p>She swears, she doesn't exactly mean to, but she forgets.<p>

She forgets that he can't _hear_ her and she even forgets that the reason he's paying attention to her so intently, practically hanging onto every word dripping from her lips, is because he _can't_ hear her and the only way to understand her is to pay just a _little_ more attention, make a _bit_ more of an effort to concentrate on things like gestures and eye contact. It _should_ be daunting, but it isn't. He has these finite blue-green eyes that she doesn't have to worry about staring at her boobs, or her ass, and they're so intent and omniscient and it's kind of amazing to talk, or not talk, to him.

Buckner Hall, notably, has one of the finest libraries in the tri-city area. So, Bay walks in one day and somehow steps into the language section. She skims through the basics –French, German, Mandarin Chinese. And then finally finds _ASL: The Body of Language_. And she never would've thought that the words _Body_ and _Language_ belonged next to each other, but she's already slightly intrigued. She opens it and finds the first word she's looking for, _Art_. And it shows a picture of a woman holding one hand up and diagonal to her other hand, which makes a squiggly type pattern from the top to the bottom of the hand. So she tries it a few times and it's easy enough. She doesn't want to look _too_ weird randomly practicing this in the stacks of the library so she heads to the checkout counter and smiles when the librarian stamps a due date in the back cover.

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><p>She finds him waiting outside on the promenade, looking up at a window this time. Before she interrupts him, she follows his line of vision and in the window, the sky has made a pattern of the clouds and the shape of the clouds reflected in the window are in the shape of a saint. It's beautiful and she's sure she wouldn't have noticed it before. She walks up, supporting her tote bag over her shoulder and smiles as she stands by his side.<p>

"So, I have a question for you," Bay begins with a touch on his triceps. "Why photography?" She signs as if she's taking a picture and Emmett smiles.

He begins to sign with a smirk, but from his lips he mouths _Because I suck at drawing. _His eyes alight as he pretends to draw sloppily on an invisible canvas.

Bay laughs and shakes her head, "That's it? No other defining reason?"

Emmett seems to take his time to think his answer through before signing. _It's capturing one moment in time that won't ever happen again. And then I get to manipulate it as the photo develops. _Bay nods, keeping her focus intently on his lips. Sometimes she feels like a pervert because her focus is entirely on them, but really, she can't help it. It's not her fault she _has_ to look at them, and it's not her fault that she doesn't necessarily _mind_. Okay, maybe that last part is, but…

_I get to see something no one else gets to see and I can keep it with me, to me that's special._

He then takes out his camera, bright red and ready. Adjusts the scope, holds it up to his eyes, all the while as Bay stares incredulously. It's art and pure creation and she has to admit that not only was he right, but that she was jealous. Occasionally, she'll take pictures of whatever tags she had done closer to the inner city, but it's only a shadow of what she had actually accomplished. He gets to _keep_ his in its purest form, or at least as close to pure as possible. And yeah, she's kinda jealous.

Emmett brushes a stray curl behind Bay's ear against the late afternoon breeze, traces his thumb against her pink bottom lip until her lips part like petals and snaps the shot.

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><p>It's a different way of communicating.<p>

Because most of the time, Bay can be sarcastic and cutting with a flair for the overdramatics, and it's not like she can't do that with Emmett, but she doesn't really want to either. She has to work with _touching_, and _movement_, and _focus_. She can't just spout out and go off on a tangent if he can't see her and in a way that kind of scares her because he _sees_ her entirely too well.

In another life, he probably would've been her best friend, her best friend whose eyes light up when she says hi to him and takes pictures of sights and scenery that only last for a moment before the moment's gone. Except he already does that, sans the best friend title. And it's not as if she's been exactly fortunate in that department.

"I'm not really good at making friends," Bay shakes her head. "At least real ones. I had Liam," She grins when his face screws up at the name. "What, you don't like Liam?"

Emmett shrugs. And then, _I didn't like the way he Daphne think she wasn't enough_. He looks at her meaningfully and signs, _And I don't like the way he made you think you were too much_.

"You _don't_ think I'm too much?" Bay asks incredulously. It's not like she doesn't know what people that actually matter to her think of her, at least most of the time. She can be over the top and seemingly unforgiving and ironic and, yeah, she's herself and she refuses to apologize for it.

_I think you're enough._

And that brings a smile to her face so wide her cheeks start to sting.

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><p>She's heads to the kitchen later that night for her vice –chocolate mousse, okay- and Daphne's in there with an apron, scrunched up brows, and some white powder on her cheek.<p>

"Hey," Bay greets softly, but Daphne's focus is on the mixing bowl in front of her and _dammit_, she's done it again. She's forgotten, and it's so easy to, but she won't do it again. She's vowing internally that she won't do it again.

Bay takes a big whiff as she enters and she's not going to lie, it smells amazing. She's had a taste of almost everything, at least once, but the aroma of rising yeast and dough still makes her all warm inside. That, and chocolate, but that's another type of love affair _completely_.

She tiptoes quietly from behind and taps Daphne on her right shoulder even though she situates herself on her left side. She giggles when Daphne looks to her right and grins when she slightly jumps at the sight of her on her left. Daphne frowns with a slight pout, reddish blonde strands in her face. "That's not funny," She scolds, hands still kneading the dough before her carefully.

"Not even a little?" Bay asks with a cute pout of her own.

"Not even at all," Daphne grouses out. Bay brushes back the loose strands behind her ear and Daphne gives her a grateful, if not strained, smile. "Thanks," She says with a lisp. "I'm sorry, it's not that I didn't even sense someone was behind me, it's just…"

"Just that what?" Bay asks when Daphne doesn't continue. Daphne blinked, though, so Bay tries signing with a shaking motion in her risen arms.

"I almost stepped out into oncoming traffic at school, okay? Please, _please_, don't say anything." Daphne requests desperately. Bay's jaw slacks.

"Daphne, that's dangerous, I thought you had an interpreter?" Bay asks, and Daphne rolls her eyes.

"You mean, a stalker that's paid to watch my every move and interpret every word anyone may say to me at all times?" Daphne's green eyes narrow detrimentally. "Thanks, but no thanks."

Bay sighs, but in a sense, she gets it. She, as an artist, wants her privacy to just _do_ and _be_ and deaf or not, everyone should be entitled to that choice, but. "It's still not safe. I mean, I know I may a huge deal about it before, and I'm sorry, but we can get the school to let us attend the same classes."

Daphne immediately shakes her head at that idea, heading over to the oven to take out her sticky buns. They're fluffy and golden brown and, "Can I have one?" Bay asks with a smile. Daphne rips one apart and Bay forgets about chocolate for the one moment it takes to bite into the freshly baked bread. "Daphne?"

"Yeah?" The redhead asks with an accomplished smile.

Bay looks at her seriously. "Where have these been all my life?"

Daphne's smile grows wider; "Mom's recipe."

Bay's eyes grow just as wide, "No kidding?" The history of the life and times of Regina Vasquez just builds and builds. It's like Bay makes one perception of her, and all of a sudden it changes with one comment, one word. Mother, artist, alcoholic. Those words barely scratch the surface.

"Yeah," Daphne says very clipped, very breathy. "Um, well, actually she learned it from my dad." She reveals, causing Bay to look down into the piece of bread she has in her hand. "Well, _your_ dad," She corrects quickly. Her light green eyes seem to have a grey cloud over them before their ordinarily sunny light returns to them in a blink of the eye.

"Still don't want to talk to me about him?" Bay plucks a piece of bread away from the larger portion in her hand and pops it into her mouth.

Daphne shakes her head, untying her apron from the back. "There's nothing to say, Bay." She walks out of the kitchen, leaving Bay in her wake, and yes, Bay thinks. There are many things that need to be said.

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><p>So, he's come to Buckner Hall enough times for her to know when he'll be there. She times it perfectly; gets out of class a few minutes earlier due to an emergency –"Another emergency, Ms. Kennish?" Her Philosophy professor sighs resignedly, writing out a pass as his glasses hang crookedly on the tip of his nose.<p>

Bay, knowing all the right moves, nods breathlessly with wide eyes, "One of the utmost importance."

He rips out the slip and dismisses her with a flit of his hand. And this is why her parents pay 30,000 dollars a year.

She heads to the front of the school and Emmett has just driven up, as he's taking off his helmet, and she's been with a guy of almost every type, but damn, none toting leather on a steel steed. Or coppery hair, or blue-green butterfly eyes.

And wait, where did that train of thought come from?

Bay heads down the steps, shaking her head clear of those thoughts and focuses on the one thing she really wants, what she needs. "Hey," She greets him out of breath when she approaches him, and his eyes light up as usual with a wave of his hand. "Would you be willing to help me out with something?"

Emmett studies her face closely, and then finally nods his consent.

She spreads her hand out wide and taps the tip of her thumb against her forehead. "My father. I want to find him."

His lips quirk into a smile and soundlessly, he hands her a helmet, a smaller one. Bay looks at it as if his hand started talking for him. And then she smiles at the prospect, at the thrill. "Really?"

He gives her an acknowledging nod, and then taps the back of his seat. He puts his own helmet back on, and yes, he must be very, very serious about this. He's always surprising her and not that her life nowadays has been monotonous, but he _is_ kinda keeping things exciting, definitely exciting enough for her tastes. Her mother would kill her if she knew she was riding on the back of a motorcycle.

She straps on the helmet and straddles the bike, wrapping her arms around his waist and never mind that she's in a mini skirt and her school uniform, she totally loves this. Emmett looks back at her and even though all she can see are his eyes –confident and amused- she knows he must be smiling as widely as she is right now. He twists the handlebars, revving the bike into life and she can feel the power underneath her and they haven't even moved yet. He nods, and she nods back, and she's slightly breathless when they take off, leaving the polished corridors of Buckner Hall behind.

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><p>Continue? Yes, no, maybe?<p>

DAC


	2. Chapter 2

_**T**hat's **the** **W**ay **W**e **A**re_

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><p>Life was about choices and experience and most importantly, the <em>id<em>. The center controlling the sensation and desire of instant gratification. Seeing really _is_ believing and that's especially true when you can't hear all of the _distractions_ and the _dangers_ and the _noise_. You can block everyone out, but you can also see them for whom and what they truly are, something hearing people just _can't_ do, and if they can, then they refuse to and that doesn't make them very smart if that's the case. You can't miss something you've never had, so, no, he's never felt as if he's missed out on something simply because he couldn't hear it.

He can still see it. _Feel_ it. Smell it, taste it, want it, need it. It's almost base rooted and led by something like desire and impulsiveness, but that's how he lives and he wouldn't change that for anything. When he wants to do something, he does it, and he doesn't let things like _complications_ and _impairments_ deter him from it.

So, he learned how to build bikes from the ground up. And then he learned how to ride them. And yes, both of his parents had to go with him to the Department of Motor Vehicles and _strongly suggest _to the service secretary there that while there are many rules pertaining to the fact that you must have sufficient eyesight to drive –which he has, 20/20 eyesight- there is _no_ rule in the manual stating that you must have sufficient hearing to drive. It's more like, a bonus.

Emmett got his restricted at fifteen, his license at sixteen, and he used to unofficially off-road three years prior to that. He's a pretty good driver.

But he also knows that Mr. and Mrs. Kennish aren't exactly thrilled with the fact that he not only drives, but he drives Daphne, too. Not that they could stop that from happening, that's up to Regina.

And as for Bay, he knew just from a look that she wasn't like the rest of the Kennish clan. Maybe it's because she _really_ wasn't, and maybe it's because of her rebellious nature, but he's just tolerant of her. She sees things that few take notice of and he can respect that. She's trying to communicate and learn at the very least without a secret agenda, and he likes that. She wears black nail polish and denim miniskirts in a prestigious school where _everyone_ looks the same and yeah, she's pretty cool from what he's seen.

But then there are the things he can't. Like why she can't respect the fact that Regina and Daphne don't want to go into it regarding her dad. He can get why she'd be curious, but she's pushing for it and he doesn't really know why.

So he takes her to the pier and he's acutely aware of her head resting on his shoulder blade, which means that her eyes are probably closed, which just makes this even better.

He parks close to the boardwalk and cuts the engine and he can feel the lift from his shoulder, so he knows that Bay must be awake and aware by now. Emmett looks back and he can barely see her in his peripheral while wearing his helmet, but she's confused and looking at him curiously. He lifts his helmet from his head and kicks the stand in the back to park his bike. She pats both of his shoulder with her open palms and signs _What_, to which Emmett replies with indifferent shrug before getting off his bike. Bay pouts petulantly and Emmett smiles, bobbing his head towards to pier and walking off. Somehow, he figures she'll get the message.

By the time she decides to follow and meet him, he's already on the boardwalk by the wooden balcony, eye focused on his scope directed out towards the water and she stands by his side, leaning against the wooden block. Black curls swaying in the wind obscure her face but he's sure she's less than pleased with all of this. He adjusts the shutter speed and shoots the unsettled bay water further out on the horizon.

She taps his shoulder and Emmett looks over to see her palm spread out in front of her face and sweep away to her side carelessly with furrowed brows. _Ignore_? No, he's not ignoring her, he just doesn't know what to say because she's not going to understand not want to understand. Emmett shakes his head and of course, he figures Bay wouldn't be Bay if she let him off that easily. She grabs him by his shoulder firmly again and four of her fingers touch her forehead before her hand backs away and her fingers bunch up into a fist. She did the sign incorrectly, but the distinct wording of _Why_ falls from her lips. So, she knows a few basic signs and conversational questions, but she won't ever get it. As much as he's been curious about this very issue himself –and he has been because how could anyone want to leave Daphne is beyond him- he's not going to try to overstep his boundaries, and he's not going to do it for pouty lips and chestnut puppy eyes. Nope, not gonna happen. Especially after he ended up in that situation with her brother. It's not that he judges a person by the actions of another, but he's definitely aware of the fact that he needs to be a little more wary next time.

She looks at him and then takes out a picture he's already seen before, but an inverted alternated version. It's Regina, cradling her very obvious girth from the time she was pregnant, and the meaning of the picture has changed in the photographer's eyes. Before, it meant that it was his best friend's mother in her second trimester and now he can see that the crinkle around Regina's eyes in the picture matches the crinkle around Bay's. The eyes, certain mannerisms. But not everything. She's slightly paler and the curvatures of her body type are different, so obviously she's a mix of both her mother and father. She has _vision_, something most people don't have, and maybe she sees something no one else has seen yet.

He looks up from the altered picture and she's cradling a thumbs up in her other hand and extending it toward him. Emmett sighs. Unfortunately, he must know as much as she does about the situation regarding her father. He does know he's in town and-

Emmett snaps his fingers and his eyes brighten by a sudden thought. Bay cranes her head as Emmett proceeds to take out his cell phone and rapidly type out a text.

_I'm going to be a little late today, got held up. Wait for me?_

In the To section, he clicks Daphne's name in his contacts and presses send. He looks back up at Bay and points back to his bike and she grabs his wrist and he can make out that she's saying _What's going on?_ With a questioning and bewildered expression on her face. He bows his hands towards himself quickly and taps his pinkie on his temple before extending his arm away, mouthing the words _I have an idea._

Emmett quickly walks back to his bike, Bay in tow and hands her back her helmet before slipping his on. He smirks when she gives a roll of her eyes before putting the helmet back on and straddling the bike once more. Once her arms are securely wrapped around his waist, he takes off, not wanting to waste any more time.

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><p>Daphne feels a vibration in her pocket as she descends the steps of Buckner Hall after last bell. Not that she could <em>hear<em> the last bell, but she was glad she didn't have to hear her cooking teacher either. After the incident yesterday of making a complete fool of herself in class and nearly getting ran over by a careless jerk, she almost relented and went to request an interpreter from the principal. But stayed up and _practiced_ and went to _Tia_, as the teacher insisted on being called, and voiced her concerns from the prior day. And she knows that she didn't mean to, but it was as her mother said; the looks and the stares, they were inevitable. But at least she didn't have to hear the whispers. She promised herself a week, one week to see if this is what she really wanted because while she loved Carlton, it could do nothing to really prepare her for the real world. This was real, and unfortunately she was going to have to get used to it because while the Kennishs could afford it, it made no sense for Daphne to continue at Carlton while Bay and Toby attended Buckner Hall nearby.

She walks to the end of the crosswalk to the promenade and a couple of girls from her last period bypass her with an off-putting stare before bowing their faces into their hands, giggling. Daphne picks up the pace of her stride and huffs through her nose, blinking away the sting behind her eyes. Stupid teacher. Stupid girls. Stupid, stupid, _stupid_.

Daphne takes out her cell and opens the incoming from Emmett. Her expression dims upon reading the message. It wouldn't have been an issue, since she planned on staying after class today, but since she forgone that idea, she was really looking forward to leaving school and clearing her head. So much for that.

She types back a quick _No problem_ and as she's about to send it, she feels a hand on her shoulder and it startles her enough to make her drop her phone. She sighs at her own clumsiness and is slightly annoyed at how on edge she's been as of late. Maybe her mother was right, maybe this wasn't a good idea.

She crouches down daintily to pick up her cellphone, but mocha hands reach it first and her day has just been getting better and better at this point. She frowns and looks up into kindly dark eyes.

Daphne clears her dry throat, "Hello, Liam."

"Daphne," He signs with his hand going in a circle with his index finger extended. He hands her back her cellphone, which she pockets quickly, and she mutters a quick thanks, but he steps in front of her before she can go by. "Wait, I…I know we broke up, but we haven't really spoken since the benefit and I heard what happened yesterday after practice." Daphne's light green eyes survey him carefully and she forces a small smile.

"I'm okay, Liam, really." And suddenly all she wants to do is escape because even though she broke things off with Liam and it was an amicable split of a very brief relationship, she still has a crush on him and she's been glad she hasn't had to directly face him until now. Ever since the whole Bay and Ty thing fell apart, she, once again, felt _stupid_ for breaking up with Liam when in reality Bay could've cared less. It was teenage rivalry at its best, and she succumbed to it.

Stupid, stupid, _stupid_.

Liam's dark eyes narrow in concern as he grips his bookbag by his shoulder. "Are you sure? Because I heard you were shook up yesterday."

Daphne sighs after she interprets the words from his lips and she looks around fleetingly, somehow wanting Emmett to appear and give her an excuse to leave. "Um, yeah, I'm fine, I promise," She says breathily and Liam's thumb brushes against her jawline, forcing her line of vision to cross his.

"Talk to me," Liam says steadfastly and as Daphne opens her mouth to speak, she sees Wilke appear behind Liam's right shoulder in her peripheral.

"Wilke," Daphne greets gratefully, drawing his and Liam's attention. "Thanks, for yesterday."

Liam is confused by the exchange, but Wilke's nods, "No problem. Hey Liam."

"Hey," Liam says warily. "What'd you do yesterday?" He asks Wilke.

"Pulled her away when the car was coming," Wilke shakes his head, his blond hair following the movement. "It was like they barely stepped on the brakes."

"Know who did it?" Liam asks, on the alert, but Wilke shrugs.

"No idea," He looks back at Daphne with softened blue eyes. "Hey, do you have a ride home?" Daphne, slightly caught off guard by the question, shakes her head. Wilke smiles, "Well, I could take you, if you need me to. I gotta talk to Toby anyways."

Liam touches Daphne's shoulder, prompting her to look at him, "I can take you home too, you know."

Daphne looks between both guys, and while Emmett did promise that he would come, she really does want to go home, and fast. Because not only is she a freak by Buckner Hall standards, everyone has been talking about her because of it. "I, um…" She looks to Wilke, "Well, since you are going to the Kennishs, it'd make more sense for you to take me." Daphne says, feeling shy all of a sudden from Liam's intense stare.

Wilke nods, "Cool." Looking back at Liam, he smirks, "We'll see you later, man."

Liam takes one last look at Daphne, who averts her eyes from his, and turns to Wilke, "Yeah, later," before walking off.

Daphne briefly looks after him, emerald meeting obsidian, but follows Wilke out to the parking lot.

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><p>Oh, my…eleven reviews in three days? Is this my new favorite fandom? I think it is~<p>

So, how I'm planning on doing this is one chapter being Bay's POV, one being Emmett's, and then back again. I know that a _lot_ of things are not being said, but as you continue reading, you'll get more and more questions answered, does that make sense? Hopefully, it does. If there are things you want addressed and/or to be seen, please drop a review/PM and I'll definitely do my best to fit it in. Daphne/Liam scene for _Princess Pinky_, and _Ace5492_, I felt the same way, thank you for pointing that out.

I'll make sure to get to PMimg everyone, but I wanted to post this prior to the new episode tonight! So thank you for reading, reviewing, alerting and faving, it really gave me inspiration to continue as well.

DAC


	3. Chapter 3

_**T**hat's **the** **W**ay **W**e **A**re_

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><p>Okay, so she's going to be frank, and she's going to be honest.<p>

She has _no idea_ what the Hell just went on here.

First, Emmett took her on his big and bad motorcycle â€"not that she's complaining- out to the pier, takes a picture, looks at hers, and suddenly, they're off again. She's surprised she hasn't got whiplash at this point. "Where are we going?" She mutters to herself from the back. Her grip on his waist tightens before leaning with Emmett into a turn.

They turn onto a descending turnpike and breeze down a narrow lane of gravel that it blocked in by walls of garbage and clunkers. He parks at the end, cuts the engine, and takes off his helmet, and what in the sweet Hell are they doing here? She takes off her helmet, looks around, gives Emmett a _look_, and _Hell no_, she's not walking here. "No, no, no, no," She says automatically when he gestures to a lane leading them further into the junkyard. She shakes her head petulantly and he shakes his head in disapproval. "You can shake your head all you want, I'm not doing it. What are we doing here anyways?"

He takes out the picture of Regina she showed him earlier and points to the license plate behind Regina in the picture. You know, the one _right_ next to her mother and totally obvious to everyone, _but_ her? Yeah, that one. She feels kind of dumb. Why didn't she think of that first?

"_Oh_," She says numbly. "Well, yeah, totally knew that was there."

Emmett smirks and pockets the photo again. Once again, he gestures towards the opening, but Bay's still not sure.

_Look, you're never going to find anything on your father if you don't._

Bay's brow scrunches. "I'm not gonna lie, I have _no idea_ what you just said, and unless all that sign language means '_The Wizard of Oz is in there and will make all of your dreams come true_', I'm not doing it." She crosses her arms and upturns her nose and that's the end of that.

Emmett sighs and throws up his hands. Then he looks at her with a wry smirk and brings both fists up to the bottom his eyes, shaking them as if he's wiping away tears before pointing at Bay. Affronted, Bay scoffs. "I am _so_ not a crybaby." Emmett shrugs, kicking dirt with tip of his shoe. He mimics the same action again with an exaggerated expression and Bay is not amused in the least. "I'm not a crybaby," She retorts childishly.

Bay reads _Then prove it_ from his lips and Emmett bows out his hand to her.

She lets out a dramatic huff, but takes his hand with a smile and if it becomes wider as the warmth of his hand grasps onto hers, it's not like she's fangirling or anything, not at all.

They skip through and Emmett takes out the photo again while Bay looks around the area, hoping to spot a clunker of a similar make. After about ten minutes of looking up and down the disorderly aisles, Bay is frustrated.

"You know," She begins, kicking a clump of dirt. "I didn't think it'd be easy, but I didn't think it'd be this hard either," She frowns and Emmett expands both arms, showing how wide spread the junkyard really is. Bay sighs, "Yeah, yeah, I know. But _still_," She all but whines and leans on one of the cars they pass along the middle. It has a rusted fender and the license plate reads **352 QCL**. Emmett's blue-green eyes become as wide as orbs and he shakes Bay's shoulder. "What, what is it?" Bay says, stepping away from the car door and Emmett pushes the photo into her hand and fervently points at the license plate in the photo and the license plate in front of them. And it clicks instantaneously. So much so that there is a little bit of hugging and a lot of squealing. Strictly platonic, of course.

She quickly lets him go and opens the car door, stepping inside and searching both front seat mirrors and the dash, looking for something, _anything_ that could bare her father's name, an old business card or a receipt. But the car's been carefully emptied out despite its rusted appearance, and she can't even find a scrap of paper. Dejected, Bay gets out of the car and slams the door, "There's nothing in there." She says looking at the closed car door. She huffs and kicks it with her boot and Emmett frowns in sympathy.

Bay looks up at him and her eye softened considerably because just when she found some hope in this, it lead straight to another dead end. "You know, I don't know what I was thinking. I mean, what if I _did_ find any information about my father? That I would just go up to his house and he'd open the door and say 'Hey! Where have you been all my life, I've been waiting for you for sixteen years!'" Bay exclaims and Emmett nods understandably. "I mean, how crazy is that? He's probably not even thinking about me or looking because Daphne said he walked out. And I know I shouldn't care so much, but I do. I _want_ to know where I come from. I want to know why I _hate_ bleu cheese but love chocolate so much."

After a moment, Emmett strokes his jaw and mouths _Because chocolate is awesome_. He rubs his stomach circularly with a satisfied smirk and a nod and Bay smiles.

"You know what's amazing, Emmett?" Bay says and Emmett cranes his head. "You are the best listener I know."

Emmett's lips quirk upward adorably and his smile is so infectious that she can't help smiling back. "I, um, maybe there's something in the back seat, or something," She says, stumbling over her words. She twists a curl around her finger to distract herself and Emmett opens the car door with a flourish and Bay bows. "Why thank you." She bends over into the back seat cushions and there's something on the back one of the front seat cushions that catches her attention. It's like a necklace or something, just some simple string with a triangular shaped charm in the middle. She takes it out and shows it to Emmett, who snaps a photo of it with his bright red Holga camera. And then he gets a look on his face akin to the one from earlier and he beginning signing at a furious speed due to the epiphany.

"Wait, _wait_, you might as well be speaking Russian." She says, arms held out in front of her signaling him to stop.

So he signs the straight finger pointing left on the rotating hand, meaning _Daphne_, and then points to himself, and then holds his hand low by his side. "Okay, so, you and Daphne were short?" Emmett shakes his head, mouthing the word _kids_. "Okay, so you and Daphne were kids andâ€¦" Emmett then strums an air guitar and points to the pick in her hand. "Okay, so you guys found a guitar, which means this is the pick," She says, holding the item up in her hand. He lifts his fist and swings it down like- "Oh, it was a guitar case! Right?" She bounces and Emmett nods. "Okay, so what happened next?" He starts pointing at Bay and then makes a hand gesture, the ASL signal for the letter _R_. "R? R?" And he points to Bay. "My R? _Regina_! Yes! You found a guitar case and Regina walked in and-" Emmett pretends to pull on his hair dramatically, "she _freaks_ out and this is the best game of charades, _ever_. What happened next?" Bay asks, utterly thrilled. But Emmett shrugs. "Wait, what, that can't be all, you don't know anything elseâ€¦?" She whines, and he signs that she came and took away the guitar case. Bay wilts, "Well, that sucks."

But then Emmett mouths _I have it_.

"What do you mean, you have it? How could you have it?" Bay asks questioning.

Emmett mimes a box and then pretends to drive an invisible car, and then again as if he's opening a case. "So, it's in a box in your car trunk?" She asks skeptically, but he shakes his head. He mouths _garage_ and she's practically jumping for joy. "When Regina moved, she left boxes in your garage and it may be in there." She squeals and in her excitement she hugs him, arms thrown around his neck. She doesn't mean to but she inhales him, and the scent is sweet and spicy.

Just like him.

* * *

><p>Daphne straps herself into a 2010 <em>Mitsubishi Eclipse<em> and she swears it still smells like new car. "Is this yours?"

Wilke smirks from behind the steering wheel as the engine cuts to life, "I wish. I've got it on loan for right now; my dad owns the local _Enterprises_."

It takes Daphne a minute of thinking before she cranes her head in thought. "The car rental place. Your dad owns them?"

"Yeah, now, I know what you're thinking," Wilke says and Daphne shakes her head, not really knowing what he could mean. "And yes, my dad and Toby's dad were totally hoping we'd bromance each other so that we can join the family businesses together and be even more rich." He cuts his amused eyes over to her and Daphne gets the joke, giggling. "I mean, who'd thunk it. The car washer's son and the son of a car rental joint, friends? _Ha_!" His smirk softens to a grin at Daphne's shaking head, "I'm kidding. Toby and I have been tight since we were practically babies."

"Well, if that's the case, then why are you making him pay you all that money for that poker game?" Daphne asks, genuinely concerned. She's only known her biological brother for a few weeks, and already he's not speaking to her. Needless to say, it kind of sucks because she was really hoping to get to know him better. Wilke bares a long sigh and Daphne can see his knuckles whiten as he tightens his grasp on the steering wheel. She looks down momentarily and his right leg has a slight tremor, akin to when they played the poker game.

"Let's just say that he owes me, and I owe someone bigger than myself." His clear blue eyes darken for the first time she's known him and she can't help but feel a foreboding sense that he's not telling her the whole story.

"How much bigger?" She asks in her thicken accent with narrowed eyes, brushing a stray red strand behind her ear.

"We're talking _David_ and _Goliath_." Wilke says seriously. "Or at least, Robin and Batman," He quips with a shrug and she can't help but crack a smile.

"I don't think it's funny, it sounds serious," She says with a shake of her head before looking at him and Wilke nods stoically.

"I agree," Wilke nods, "But I do have a serious question for you."

"What's that?" Daphne whispers.

"Were you helping Toby, at the poker game?" He looks over, blue eyes clear and lighthearted with a smirk and Daphne's breath shortens. How could he know?

"Why would you say that?"

He grins, showing pearly white incisors, "You were drinking so much soda I'm surprised your bladder didn't explode. I should invite you more often, you and your friend, the dude on drums. Free of charge."

Daphne shakes her head. "You don't have to."

"Well, I'd like to, but since I don't think you enjoyed yourself all that much, we could always do something else," Wilke shrugs noncommittally.

Daphne's brow rises skeptically. "Like what?" She asks, crossing her arms. She shouldn't be so intrigued by him or his seemingly comedic nature, or his innocently good looks. Because somehow she knows he's not all that innocent. Still, she guesses he knows about her trying to help Toby win and he's not even giving her a hard time about it, so she's not really one to judge on innocence and non-innocence.

"I don't know, we could go running in front of cars like in _The Notebook_ and burn old buildings down, it could be fun." Wilke says with a cheeky grin, one dimple winking at her, and she smacks the top of his shoulder, laughing.

"That's not funny!" Daphne says defensively, attempting not to smile.

"But you're laughing," Wilke says knowingly.

"Yeah," Daphne agrees. "I am."

His car glides through the open gate and approaches the front, between the Kennishs mansion and Daphne's home. "Feel better?" Wilke smirks.

"Yeah," Daphne says, softly this time. Her light green eyes express gratitude because a car ride took away all of her animosity and frustration, even if it was a momentary distraction. She smiles and he nods, cutting off the engine and getting out of the car. Daphne unbuckles her seat belt and reaches over to open the door, but Wilke opens it for her. She gets out with a suspicious smirk and narrowed green eyes, "What are you up to?"

Wilke scoffs and holds a hand to his chest and over his heart, taking an exaggerated step backward. "Daphne, I'm hurt. What ever makes you think I'm _up_ to something?"

"Aren't you?" Daphne retorts with a wry smirk of her own.

With a sigh, Wilke closes the door and shoves his hand down his khaki pockets. "Yeah, I am. I usually am," He admits easily and Daphne cranes her head, observing him carefully. "And now that you've caught me in the act of being up to something, I say you invite me in for a Scooby snack."

Daphne lets out a scoffing laugh. "I love that cartoon."

"Who _doesn't_ love that cartoon?"

Daphne and Wilke stare at each other seriously for a brief moment before bursting with laughter. "Thank you," Daphne says, clutching onto her bookbag on her shoulder.

Wilke shrugs. "Hey, what are long lost brother's best buds for? I'm just doing my job."

Before Daphne could say anything else, she notices Toby approach from behind Wilke and the smile she gives him is strained because she still hasn't really spoken to him since the game, "Hey Toby."

Toby rubs his hand through his reddish hair and nods at Daphne before directing himself to Wilke. "Hey, there's something I gotta show you upstairs." He says, gesturing towards the house. Wilke nods succinctly, but glances back at Daphne, who seems out of place in front of them, vision averted towards the ground.

He lays a warm hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up, "I'll see you in class tomorrow, okay?" Wilke says in parting and Daphne nods as he takes his hand off her shoulder, leaving with Toby close by his side.

She's not sure what they're up to.

But she plans on finding out.

* * *

><p>Ah, this chapter is so fillerish it's sickening. Luckily though, BayEmmett fans (Baymett? Bemmett? Emmay?) fans were given that _awesomeamazingepic_ episode on Monday to tide up through the week. Seriously, their scenes practically stole the episode! Bay literally lights up around Emmett and we learned so much about Emmett (and basically how awesome he was from the get go, but most fans already knew that ;)) but it's around 1 in the morning and I had a headache, so I medicated it with vanilla icecream (which worked!) and the next chapter should be much moreâ€¦exciting? Hopefully longer and more scenes implemented with the parents.

I'd just like to say, thank you to everyone who's read, reviewed, alerted, and faved; everytime I received one in my inbox, it fueled me (and continues to fuel me) to keeping on writing, it's amazing. According to Sean Berdy (Emmett), the camera used on the show is a _Holga_ (don't know if anyone _cares_, but...). I like little details like that, I dunno. I really hope I live to everyone's expectations though, so I'll stop rambling now and go to sleep.

DAC


	4. Chapter 4

_**T**hat's **the** **W**ay **W**e **A**re_

* * *

><p>Emmett drives her home.<p>

Bay takes off the helmet and gets off the bike, smoothing out her skirt. Still wearing his helmet, Emmett curls up three of his middle fingers and holds his hand up to where his ear would be. Bay nods, getting the message. "Yeah, I'll definitely talk to you later."

Emmett nods back and revs his engine once before riding off. She sighs, almost wondering why she wasn't caught getting off of a motorcycle right in front of her house. But she figures her parents must be out, Toby must be in his room, and Daphne's deaf. For the first time in a while, she seriously feels as if she's dodged a bullet.

Just then, a 1996 Toyota pulls up to the guesthouse and the engine cuts off before Regina gets out.

And, once again, the universe finds a way to make sure that bullet comes around full circle. She rolls her eyes at the irony and turns around to face her biological mother, innocent smile in place. "Hey, Regina."

Regina smiles, "Hi, Bay. You haven't seen Daphne, have you? I just saw Emmett leave."

Bay's lips quirk, "No, I haven't. I don't really see her at school, either."

"Huh," Regina said, the cogs in her mind spinning accordingly. "Then what was Emmett doing here?"

"He..." Bay began anxiously. "He dropped me off."

Regina's chestnut eyes widen in slight surprise. "Oh. And what about Daphne?"

Bay opens her mouth, not sure of what answer to give, but the guesthouse door opens and Daphne emerges with a smile at her mom and Bay. Regina turns to her with a relieved smile, "Hey, baby girl." With every word she says, the older woman sighs each with certainty, and in a synchronized pattern. Bay watches intently as Regina asks Daphne how she got home.

"Oh, I got a ride home from Wilke, Toby's friend." Daphne answers easily and Regina looks between the two 16 year old girls.

"Did you guys switch riding buddies today, or something?" She says, gesturing to both of them, and Daphne looks at Bay, and then back to Regina.

"What are you talking about?" Daphne asks questioningly.

"Bay rode home with Emmett today," Regina says before Bay could and this just got really, really awkward. Daphne's expressive green eyes cut to Bay, and Bay winces under the glare.

"_Emmett_? Since when do you two talk? _How_ can you even-" Daphne stumbles, unaware of how to proceed while still processing the information. "Why do you get to be friends, or even more than friends, with people I know, but I can't with people you know?"

It's not that; look, I'm sorry about what happened with Liam. I didn't actually think you'd break up with him and I shouldn't have made you feel like I have dibs on Buckner Hall. I don't, and I'm sorry," Bay says pleadingly with wide, dark eyes.

Daphne isn't convinced and shakes her head. "And Emmett? How do you even manage to meet my friends?"

"He was waiting for you today and-"

"He got held up," Daphne nods knowingly with a frown. "So, you held him up?"

Bay huffs through her nose; there's no way she's getting out of this without a tongue lashing of some sort, so instead of beating around the bush, she decides honesty is the best policy and since both Regina _and_ Daphne are in front of her, she can kill two birds with the same signing stone. She raises a hand to her chest, gesturing herself, "I'm _looking_," She holds a finger to her eye. "_For_." She childishly holds up four fingers. "My father," She gestures to herself again before tapping the thumb of her spread out hand against her forehead.

Daphne's eyes widen incredulously and she looks between both dark haired women before retreating back into the guesthouse, slamming the front door.

Bay sighs. "_That_ went well."

"_Yeah_," Regina agrees. "So, why so eager about…your father?" Regina's hand goes to rest on her hips with a quirked brow.

"Wouldn't you be?" Bay asks with imploring wide eyes. "You could always just…_tell_ me."

"I could," Regina readily agrees. "But then, you'd still go looking, wouldn't you?" She asks knowingly, and Bay tentatively consents the point. She _would_ still go looking. "Well then, you tell me if you get in contact with him and how you like it, I won't stop you." Regina nods and she heads up the walkway to the guesthouse and Bay's sure that while Regina may not be thrilled with it, she's taking it much better than Daphne.

Thank God for that.

Bay whips out her cell phone and rapidly types: _Daphne knows. In serious need of damage control s'il vous plait!_ And clicks send with a smiley face.

* * *

><p>Emmett receives the message and smirks at the bit of French at the end with a shake of his head.<p>

She's cute, okay? She just is.

He sends her back a quick text of his own: _I got it, she'll be fine_, and then goes to text Daphne, who he's sure is more upset at the situation than him or Bay if he knows her. And he _does_ know her.

His mom leaves the house for a parent/teacher conference, and his dad hasn't been in the house for a few days, something Emmett is slowly getting used to.

He doesn't want to get used to it.

He looks for a distraction in something, anything, and his thoughts lead him to the basement and his drum set. He pounds on it once, twice, clashes the cymbal with his drumstick, but he can hear nothing. He closes his eyes and he can feel the steady thrum in his chest, but it's still nothing.

He wants to feel something, and so he texts Bay. Tells her that the coast is clear and that she should come over, even though he told her they can resume tomorrow. But why leave something for the future when you can do it in the present?

He drums and drums and drums because at least he can pretend that the pounding in his chest is from an outside force and not because of the cute text Bay sent him back, or because she's coming over to his house, or even that he'll be alone with her. It's nothing, just like the sounds that he can't hear, just like the fact that he likes spending time with her, just like how mad Daphne seemed earlier when he tried to explain the situation, it's all nothing.

He's helping Bay find her father.

He's helping Daphne find her answer.

He feels nothing but friendship for either of them.

So why didn't he tell Daphne about Bay earlier?

Because there was nothing to tell, he convinces himself. That's why. There's nothing to tell.

Nothing, nothing, nothing.

* * *

><p>A smile comes to her face when he opens his front door and if her dark eyes glitter in some sort of adulation, it's because he continuously seems to amaze her.<p>

An eight year old Emmett had more courage than any adult she's ever met in her entire life. So a sixteen year old Emmett is just _that_ more amazing and conscientious and it's inspiring. She'll go to her art studio later that night and blame it on her pining for Ty, but instead of stark and bold colors, she'll use earthy tones. Russets and reds and blues and greens, colors that remind her of Emmett.

Daphne, calming down from her prior anger, told her the story. The story that defined and changed her outlook as a person all because an eight year old boy saw injustice occurring and decidedly put a stop to it. Daphne was vulnerable and unwanted and made fun of. She didn't know about ASL and she wasn't exposed to people who were just like her. And even though she had Ty, who was more understanding than children his age and willing to look after her, it didn't fill the void because he was a few years older, which meant that he wasn't in her grade, which meant they only saw each other before and after school.

Well, Ty was absent, one day. So, after one full day of teasing and loneliness, Daphne practically ran to the door when it was time to leave. Unfortunately, two girls followed her lead and before they could say anything, eight year old Emmett came running up. And eight year old Emmett stopped them and scolded them and _scared_ them and took Daphne away to meet his family, who was just like him and her. That was how she discovered ASL. That was how she found her best friend.

So, as Daphne tells her story, her eyes light up and Bay's soften. And when Emmett opens his door, her eyes light up and she has a stinging smile plastered on her face. It's only when he looks at her and asks if she's okay that she realizes it. The smile falls and she gestures to the garage and she may or may not have just made herself look like the village idiot. But that's okay because somehow, she doesn't think Emmett would question her sanity _too_ much.

They go to his garage and scour through some boxes for a while. She looks back at Emmett, who's donning an eye patch and pirate's hat and she bites her lower lip to stop the laugh that what's to bubble through when he mimics a pirate's jig. She shakes her head, "You don't make a scary pirate."

He points to himself, expression dimmed and disappointed with a slight shake of his head.

"No," Bay says, amused. Emmett takes the hat and patch off and Bay sighs, looking around with a shake of her head. "I don't think the," She air guitars and pretends she's closing an invisible case. "_Guitar case_, is in here."

Emmett shrugs.

"We would've found it by now," She mutters, and spots a black suitcase. She takes it down and lays it on the table, and Emmett stands by her side as she opens it and looks in a small manila envelope. A cassette tape cover comes out and it's for Regina. "So the baby knows good music, all my love –A.S." She looks back at Emmett, who's surveying the cover in her hands. "A.S. That has to be my father. He can be Adam, or Aaron, or Andrew-"

Emmett pretends to wield a light saber. _Anakin Skywalker_.

"_Or_, whoever that is!" Bay agrees gleefully, not really understanding who he meant. She looks through the suitcase again and finds a birth certificate. Daphne's birth certificate. _Her_ birth certificate.

Emmett looks between her and the paper and it's odd to see that the Daphne on the paper is really the Bay in front of him. She was born October 22, 1995 and at 1:22 in the early morning hours, and she was 6.5 Lbs. A small, small Bay. Or Daphne, as she was at the time.

Mother's maiden name: Regina Vasquez.

_Father's name: **Angelo Sorrento**._

"Oh my god, that's my dad," Bay says, looking between the paper and the auburn haired boy next to her. "My dad is Angelo Sorrento; Angelo Sorrento is my dad!" She bounces up and embraces him and Emmett doesn't know what it is, but he likes being close to her and he's happy that she's one step closer to finding her father.

She lets him go, clutching the certificate, and his arm lingers around her waist. Bay looks at him, "Emmett," Her eyes wide and alight, she brings her fingers up to her lips and extends them forward, just like he taught her earlier. "Thank you so much for doing this, for helping me." She doesn't know another way to express her gratitude, so she embraces him again.

And this time, she isn't so quick to let go.

Bay goes home and she practically floats across the walkway and up to her room. She gets on her laptop and starts searching Angelo Sorrento, anything she can find. In the world, there are 147 results. In the US alone, there are 45. 3 of them live in the tri-city area. One of them is hers.

And that's exactly what she texts him that night. Her fingers sweep over the keypad without stopping and she couldn't stop smiling if she tried.

About twenty minutes away, Emmett smiles.

She's one step closer to finding her father.

And he's one step closer to her.

* * *

><p>Okay, so, that covers 1x06. <strong>pixiie18<strong> wanted more of a focus on Bemmett, so I tried to do that in this chapter; **GG** wanted a Bay/Regina scene, so there you go (and I agree, they definitely need more scenes in canon!) And **0appletree0** owns a Holga (which is so cool, I only have a digital camera, but I love taking photos with it). I've noticed a few of you are liking Daphne/Wilke, they'll show up in the upcoming chapter. Even though I favor them as a couple, I'm still planning on doing a Wilke/Daphne/Liam…thingy, I'll figure it out. Also, the chapters are going un-beta'd, thus the mistakes, I'll try to get to them. If anyone is willing to beta, just leave a review/PM.

If there's anything, anything at all, that you want to see, you need only review or PM.

Thank you to everyone who's read, reviewed, faved and alerted. 3 chapters, 20 favs, 75 alerts, and 50 reviews later, the feedbacks been amazing guys. Please keep it up and I promise you'll get that next chapter a lot quicker~

DAC


	5. Chapter 5

_**T**__hat's __**the **__**W**__ay __**W**__e __**A**__re_

* * *

><p>Bay paints a mural of sorts.<p>

It's abstract and muted and each color does its part in blending into a completely different shade. She begins with the tertiary slate as a base and then she's stuck. She typically uses a lot of black in her painting, creating a lot of shades and shadows.

Something only befitting the tortured teenage soul of a sixteen year old girl who was unwittingly thrown into an alternate continuum of time and space.

But it just…she's not feeling that. She's feeling just about the opposite actually. She could always tint it and make it lighter with white, which would still be intense, but more noticeable to the eye. But tinting always fades out easier and it's not as aesthetically pleasing in her eyes.

And then Emmett comes to mind again, for some reason. Emmett, and his hands. And his hands speak for him and the way he uses them…

Her mind slowly disintegrates itself in the gutter for a moment and she literally has to shake her head clear from the clutter.

She decides on tones and intermixing each color with a touch of gray. She sets a few strokes on her canvas and thinks of Ty. And blue-green eyes.

But Ty doesn't have blue-green eyes. His are dark like opals and glitter like obsidian. She dips her paintbrush into a russet tone before swiping it across her canvas. She adds five different variations of reddish yellows, sparking up like flames into the black. Bay has Adele's _21_ on a loop obscurely in the background and it wouldn't be the first time she let music take over as her muse. After around the 6th time, she begins mumbling the lyrics, "_I let it fall, my heart. And as it fell, you rose to claim it…_"

The colors nearly fade into the black, but they are so distinct, so bright, that they can't possibly unnoticed by an onlooker. She paints more yellows and oranges at the base. And then, experimentally, she paints a tan like stroke extending itself from the flames. She carves out another an inch to the side of it and fills it in with beiges and coppers. Fingers are etched out in the black and suddenly a hand materializes in front of her.

Bay puts down her brush and yawns, done for the night and not willing herself to dwell on it any longer.

She closes down her studio for the night and heads into the house, sneaking through the foyer because it was late until her nose caught the scent of baking chocolate, and well, she couldn't go to sleep after that, now could she?

She creeps into the kitchen and just like last time, it's Daphne and her badass cooking that has intoxicated her senses. Instead of trying to startle her this time, she gently touches her shoulder and Daphne looks over, frightened at first, but with a few calming breaths, she nods. Bay knows it's dark and that she may not be able to see her lips as much, so she points to the oven and raise her arms in the air with her hands to signify _What_ and Daphne nods stiffly, "Chocolate mousse petifores."

And God, why haven't her parents adopted this girl yet? Oh, wait…

Bay goes to turn on the overhead lights and looks back at Daphne with a smile, but the redhead's lips are pursed and Bay realizes that she's still mad from earlier. "Are you still mad?"

"Does chocolate taste good?" Daphne asks testily.

Um…

"Yes," Bay answers with a nod.

"Then, there's your answer," Daphne says thickly, before turning her attention back to her timer. Bay frowns and touches her shoulder to get her attention again, but Daphne shrugs it off. Bay sighs. If she's going to play hard to get, then she's going to have to play harder. Without notice, Bay snatches the timer from the counter and heads to the other side of the island in the kitchen. Daphne gasps and heads after her, but Bay retreats to the other side before the redhead can catch up. "Bay, give that back; I need to see when they're done!"

"Then I need you to give me a few minutes to make my point, just a couple," The brunette pleads, and Daphne crosses her arms, waiting. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't think it was that big of a deal because it's not like we've been hanging out as friends, he's just helping me find my father."

"And you're sure that's _all_ this is?" Daphne asks conspiratorially. "Or is it that now Ty is gone you need yet _another_ one of my friends as your own?"

Bay's jaw slacks. "It wasn't even like that with Ty, first of all. I met him before I knew that he knew you."

"And it was the same between Liam and I, but you still wanted me to break up with him," Daphne says just as fiercely.

"I was upset, okay? And even being a little bitchy about it," Bay concedes, running a hand through her wavy locks in frustration. Daphne gives her a long and hard look and Bay scoffs, "Okay, _very_ bitchy about it. I felt like I was…_irrelevant_, after you moved in. You already have Regina's attention and mom and dad were really interested in knowing more about you and it was like I was fading into the background and I've never felt like that before." Bay's eyes avert to the ground, a heavy weight released from her petite shoulders. "I, um, I'm not the nicest, smartest, most well-doing girl, _ever_, but _you are_, and it's hard to compete with that _so close to home_ and _all of the time_. And it was immature," Bay nods. "I didn't really think you'd _really_ break up with Liam, but I _did_ want to guilt trip you about it. I guess I wanted you to feel as bad as I've been starting to feel." Bay sighs after saying all that, and then rolls her eyes, "I know that this all sounds ridiculous-"

"It's not," Daphne murmurs.

"And I understand why you feel the way you do, and I don't expect you to feel sympathy about it either. Liam and Ty would probably say I was being overdramatic again," Bay says with a wry chuckle and a shake of her head. "But Emmett doesn't judge me; he doesn't say I'm being overdramatic and he doesn't try to placate me or patronize me. He really _listened_ to me and I know he's deaf but I know why you'd want him all to yourself," The brunette smiles genuinely. "He's sweet and honest and resourceful," Bay lists off Emmett's qualities, the ones she admires with an immediate fondness before she can stop herself. Daphne surveys her curiously as Bay's cheeks start to tint. "Who wouldn't want someone like that to be their friend? And it's not like I want to take him away from you, it's just that…I think he could be a really good friend to me, and I need a really good friend right now."

Daphne nods. "And Ty?"

"I'll be waiting for him when he gets back," Bay promised.

Daphne gives a small smile. "Okay," She says breathily. The timer in Bay's hand lights up and Daphne looks at her, "Would you like one?"

"Does chocolate taste good?" Bay asks cheekily and Daphne laughs as she goes to get them out of the oven.

And everything's not perfect, but it's a lot better than what it was before.

* * *

><p>The next day, now that the air's been cleared –mostly- and the chocolate's been eaten –seriously, where were they all her life- Bay invites Emmett over after her mom asks Daphne if she wants to make out via <em>hand<em>sies, which is like footsies but with more hands than feet, Toby steals a Chem answering sheet from Buckner Hall, and dad's still on the lawsuit rampage.

Just another typical morning in the newly formed Kennish-Vasquez housing alliance.

Bay barges into Toby's room that morning with Daphne in tow. "You stole the tests! I mean, I know you were pretty hard up after that last loss, but I didn't really think you'd stoop that low," She accuses with crossed arms.

"And how did you come to the conclusion that I stole the test based off that?" Toby inquires with a quirked brow.

Daphne, not having seen the movement of Bay's lips, scrunches up her brow until Toby talks. "_You stole the test_?" She proclaims loudly with wide eyes after seeing Toby continue the conversation.

"Hey Daphne, if you say that a _little_ louder, I'm _sure_ East Riverside could hear you," Toby snipes as he closes the door.

Bay's eyes widen comically in shock at the defamation her brother did to himself as Daphne turns to look at her. "Oh my wow. _Wow_. I can't believe you did it; how could you do something like that, Toby?" Daphne turns back to Toby to see his careless shrug.

"Well, I owed Wilke money, a _lot_ of money. And since we sold the test, I don't owe him money anymore," Toby reveals, to which Daphne frowns. She knew he was up to something the day before, and she was hoping to maybe even stop him before he went through with whatever dumb thing he and Wilke could've planned but she certainly didn't think it would be to this extent. She also didn't think that Wilke would let him go through with that, but she was obviously wrong about that too.

"Oh, and just like that, problem's solved huh?" Bay snarks sarcastically. "Is that what you're telling the dean when he suspends you, or dad when he finds out that you were suspended?"

"The dean's not finding out because he has no way of finding out, and dad's not finding out either because neither of you are going to tell him," Toby looks at both girls critically, portraying the message that he wasn't giving them the option to tell anyone. "_Right_?"

"The dean already knows because he sent out the alert, use your head!" Bay retorts. "And we're not saying anything; you dug this hole, you get yourself out," Bay scathes and Toby rolls his eyes before exiting the room. Daphne steps in front of Bay, still trying to process everything.

"Wait, how do we help them? There's gotta be a way for us to help them…" Daphne defends helplessly.

"Help them with what? Justify a stupid act with more stupidity?" Bay sighs. "Whatever is done is done, and it's because they both did it for their own selfish reasons, we're staying out of this."

Daphne nods, but looks down with pursed pink lips.

Bay's expression softens as she touches her shoulder to gain her attention. "What's wrong?"

"I don't think I _can_ stay out of it, Wilke's driving me to Buckner for cooking class today," Daphne murmurs thickly.

"Then just don't mention it," Bay says with a narrowed brow, and Daphne looks at her silently for a very long moment. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." Bay steps past her and Daphne's face falls as she wonders what she could do or say to her biological brother.

If she could say or do anything at all.

* * *

><p>"Okay, so, I'm telling you this because I'm not sure who else I can talk to about this –Daphne would probably freak again, I'm not telling my parents something Toby needs to tell them, and…you're pretty much the closest thing I have to a best friend right now."<p>

_So, other than that, what am I?_ Emmett signs with a wry smirk. _Chopped liver? _

"I love how you just sign things like that, and expect me to understand." Bay says dryly, albeit amusement laced in her voice. "I bet you just called me bratty or ugly, right?"

Emmett shakes his head, eyes narrowed in thought. Then, he looks at her meaningfully, and mouths the words he signs this time. _I'd be lying._

Bay laughs, head bowed bashfully. She looks back up and exhales vocally. "Okay, Toby has been acting weird and it's because he stole a test from school and sold the answers to pay off his debt to Wilke." She says, not too fast and not too slowly. Emmett shakes his head in disapproval. "Yeah, I know, right?" Bay agrees. "Then the principal knows and is threatening to expel and last but not least," She says with a blossoming smile on her reddened lips. She spent most of the lunch period perfecting this from her ASL book because she really wanted to be able to say this, and she learned from reading that the three most important things in any physical language was the shape, location, and movement. So she begins by resting he hand on her chest. "I," She points to her temple. "Think I," Her hand makes a slender curve in the air, "Found my," and the pad of her thumb touches her forehead, "Father!" And suddenly, she's not just saying random words, but an _actual_ sentence and it feels pretty awesome when Emmett looks at her and she knows he understood what she just said with certainty.

Emmett gives her a slow clap with an approving nod and Bay bows. She looks up suddenly, "You're not patronizing me, are you?"

Emmett shakes his head deliberately with closed eyes.

"Good," Bay sighs. "Do you want to see him?" She asks with a teasing smile, which Emmett nods enthusiastically at. She grabs his hand, warm and firm, and leads him into her art studio to a lounge chair in front of a computer. She sits in it, he relaxes beside her on the armrest as she brings up the webpage she was last looking at. On it is a man of Hispanic descent with earphones wrapped around his neck. Emmett's lips quirk and he brushes his hand against Bay's to get her attention. Mouthing as he signs, he says, _He's a DJ._ Moving his hands as if he's operating a turntable. Bay nods, "Yeah, he's a DJ, late 30s, so he's around the right age. He works at a club over at East Riverside –it _has_ to be him! _Plus_," She holds up her laptop with her cheek to the screen and smiles a smile similar to the one the man on it has. "We look alike don't we?"

Emmett looks from the screen, back to her face, and to the screen again and the resemblance is seriously striking. He waves his hands his hands in the air with a bright smile and winking dimples.

Bay bounces, "That's the sign for excited, you're excited! I'm excited too, but," The light in her eyes wane and Emmett's brow furrows in concern. "What if he doesn't like me?" She reveals quietly. "What if he thinks I'm, I don't know, what if he doesn't want me? And what do I say? 'Hi, I'm your daughter, but not the deaf one you left, your real daughter!' He'll think I'm crazy!" She rambles, curling her finger by her temple.

Emmett grabs her hand suspended in the air and holds it for a moment, keeping eye contact, confidence looking into vulnerability. He points to the screen, and then his hand vertically in the air. He puts both of his hands in a fist and crosses his arms over his chest before pointing at Bay, mouthing the words.

_He will love you._

"You think so?" Bay brightens. She wraps her arms over her chest the way he did prior, "Is this the sign for love?" Emmett nods enthusiastically and Bay squeals in awe, "That's so cute!" She says, swaying in her seat while Emmett mimics her movements.

Just then, Daphne approaches the doorway with crossed arms. "So are you two _in love_ now?" Daphne asks thickly, over exaggerating her movements jokingly, causing Bay and Emmett to look over wide-eyed like two children caught with a jar of cookies before dinner. Both instantly retract their arms to their sides and shake their heads fervently.

"No, no, we were just –_practicing_! That's it, practicing," Bay says nervously.

"For what?" Daphne asks with a raised brow.

"I think I found my father," Bay says, more confidently with her signs. Daphne pauses and Bay stands, walking up to her. "I know that he left, but what if you could find out why? Don't you want to know why?"

Daphne opens her mouth, and then closes it. Finally she huffs and says, "I don't know if I want to know to be honest."

Emmett stands next to Bay, giving Daphne a hard look. _I know you want to know; you've wanted to know your whole life._

_And what if I don't like the answer?_ Daphne signs with a scoffing look on her face. _What then?_

_Then you deal with it. _Emmett responds surely, _Just like you've dealt with everything else._

Bay looks between them, not knowing the exact words being said, but recognizing the fear and apprehension in Daphne's eyes, the same feeling she just felt. And recognizing body language was a more basic form of sign language anyways, wasn't it? "His name is Angelo. Angelo Sorrento. He DJs," She says, pretending to operate an imaginary turn table, "At a nightclub and he's going to be there tonight," She finishes, overlaying one palm over the back of her other hand. "Come with us," She says with her hands.

Daphne looks at Emmett. _You're going too?_

Emmett shrugs. _I have to see how this all plays out, don't I? _He smirks, _You too._

Daphne cranes her head in response and then looks at both of them. "Give me some time to think about it," She says, signing slowly enough for Bay to understand.

Bay nods, looking over at Emmett before looking back, "We can do that."

Daphne glances between her best friend and Bay before walking out and Bay lets out a breath when she turns, "That went a lot better than expected." It takes her a moment to realize that Emmett isn't by her side anymore and that he's looking at some of her paintings in progress –a fiery yellow background with a random blue eye in the middle, and then her mural which takes up most of the back wall.

Maybe she has been thinking about him too much.

Bay walks over to say something, but she notices he's transfixed on it. He looks at her and points and then points to the painting with questioning in his eyes. She nods immediately, "Yeah, I painted this last night." She says anxiously. She doesn't really let people see her artwork prior to it being finished and she doesn't let muses see it period.

Emmett looks at Bay and then the hand in the picture and smiles in approval. He snaps his wrist by his face fluidly, _That's cool._

Bay shakes her head. "I don't know what that means," She says good-naturedly.

Emmett takes her hand and shapes out the sign in her hand as if it was clay and holds her hand to her face, repeating the same movement. He enunciates the word slowly this time. _Cool._

"Oh? Cool? Cool!" Bay nods, getting it. "Do you think Daphne is coming?" She asks with the appropriate signs.

Emmett nods, and then holds out his hand with little space between his index finger and thumb. Bay lets out an anxious breath and Emmett notices the boom box she has resting on a stool. He walks over to it and lays his hand on the speaker, smiling at the rapidly pounding bass emitting from it. Bay walks over and smiles, "That's the tape we found in Regina's case."

Emmett smiles as Bay begins swaying. "It's really cool, it has animal noises in it." She shapes her hand out like a tiger's claw and growls and Emmett soundlessly laughs. "Oh, birds. _Caw_!" She acts out, bobbing her body to the music. Keeping time with the beat radiating in the palm of his hand, Emmett lets go of the radio and begins two-stepping beside it, crossing his feet over into a twist. Bay laughs, "That's right, get down!" Emmett grabs her hand and assists her in a twirl, grabbing her other open hand and shuffling slowly to the music.

Both were so enamored with the other's movement that it took them a full minute to realize that Regina was by the doorway, smiling at them. They break apart hastily and Regina shakes her head, "No, I didn't mean to interrupt," She says, signing rapidly. "Really, continue. It's just that I used to dance to this when I was your age."

Bay and Emmett avoid eye contact bashfully.

"I'll go," Regina rushes, grabbing her bag and shutting the door behind her.

After she leaves, Bay looks at Emmett tentatively and Emmett gives her an amused smile, cocking his head and outstretching his hand to her, which she accepts and she's not really the best verse dancer, but a simple cha-cha, she can do.

And in the hands of a cute guy, she can definitely do.

* * *

><p>This chapter is setting some things in motion guys, bear with me. I know I've taken long to update –it's all the shipper highs and lows I've been through though! eBay is even more amazing than I imagined! But I digressed. There's going to be more of a focus on Daphne next time with more eBay cuteness of course. Is there anything in particular you want to see? Drop a review and even if it doesn't show up in the next chapter, I guarantee I'll find a way to squeeze it in.<p>

On that note, thank you to all the readers, reviewers, favers, and alerters; you guy have no idea how much it fuels me every time I see a new one in my inbox. Over 60 reviews, 50 favs, and 115 alerts? You guys amaze me~

DAC


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